Man With Autism Tased By Florida Police Officers

EUSTIS, FL — Alarming bodycam footage shows the moment Florida police tased a young man with severe autism several times while responding to a recent burglary call in progress. The Eustis Police Department released the video Wednesday.

The family of the man, 20-year-old Louis Grahai, said they are outraged by the incident. His mother told multiple media outlets that she believes the situation wasn't handled appropriately. Grahai has the mental capacity of a 4-year-old child, can't speak and also wears diapers, she said.

"I seen my baby on the ground with tasers. One taser in the back of his neck, on the side of his neck, his eardrum is bleeding," Robert Crew, Grahai's mother, told WESH-TV.

Prior to the incident, a woman frantically called 911 Saturday afternoon to report that Grahai chased to her home. After she locked her front door, he attempted to get in, FOX 35 Orlando reported.

Once on scene, Orlando news outlets reported that police easily located Grahai, however, when they demanded he put his hands behind his back, he did not comply. That's when officers tased him.

“I’m numb. That’s how y’all treat disabled children? Is this how you treat a disabled adult?" Crew said in an interview with FOX 35.

Meanwhile, Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri is defending his officers. He believes they did everything by the book.

"I think they did a great job by de-escalating and not using excessive force in this situation,” Chief Capri told News 6 Orlando. “We reverted to our training on how to respond to a situation. I think the bigger question is the supervision of the severely autistic gentleman. There should’ve been better supervision in place."

According to Grahai's mother, her son is currently in a neck brace and recovering from his injuries after having suffered neck and ear damage.

For the future, Chief Capri told News 6 that his department will look into additional training and note those with disabilities in surrounding neighborhoods to prevent similar incidents.